Process and apparatus for utilizing sulfurous gases with treatment of metalliferous materials.



e, c. WIESIBY. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING SULFUROUS GASES WITHTREATMENT OF METALLIFEROUS MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 10. I917- LGJFL. Patented May 21,1918.

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G. C. WESTBY. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR UTILIZING SULFUROUS GASES WITHTREATMENT OF METALLIFEROUS MATERIALS.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. IO. I9. ]I 66,7 31L Patented May 21, I918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gases employed and aleaching outo f the cnonen c. WESTBY, or unwic,NEVADA, Assrenon T0 wnsrnnn riaocnss conr'iAnY,

A conronArron or MAINE.

PROCESS AND AJPJPATUS FORU'IILIZING SULIFUBOUS GASES WITH TREATMENT 0FMETALLIFEROUS MATERIALS; i

Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed Apri110,'1917. Serialllfo. 160,9 33. I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE, citizen of the United States, residin atLudwig, in the county of Lyon and tate of Nevada, have invented certainnew and C. I WEs'rBr, a

useful Improvements in Processes and Apparatus for Utilizing sulfurousGases with sulfurous gases such as those arising from smelter furnaces,and the like. Its objects are to efi'ect such a sulfatizing of the oresrapidly, efficiently and economically to 20v simultaneously remove themetal values therefrom, and to utilize substantially the entiresulfurous gasjcontent of the ases employed. Further objectsof myinvention will hereinafter appear.

In carrying out my. invention I eflect simultaneously a sulfatizing ofthe metal values in the ore by means of the sulfurous said values in thedissolved state. From the solution'obtained by leaching I mayprecipitate the metal values in any suitable manner.

In treating ore in accordance with my process I form a column thereof inan inclosed space wherein it is subjected to treatment. In using coarseore I first separate therefrom the fine particles which would close upthe interstices between the ore lumps or pieces.

Through the column of ore I then pass sulfurous gases while the ore issimultaneously wetted and leached by an aqueous nonalkaline liquid. Theliquid thus used may be water or it may be the solution derived from theprevious treatment of ore in the 7 same manner. In general I cause theliquid and gases to travel in counter-current, the as being forcedthrough the column from elow by pressure or by suction and the liquid issprayed down upon the col from the top. The reaction takin place causesthe liquid to become heated, 1ts teme perature however being below theboiling point of water. The liquiddrains into any the b0 suitable sumptank, from which it may be returned to the top of the column, used onPatented IIay2lhiL1l.

a fresh body of ore, or discharged to-the precipitation systeme Thesulfurous gases, after having been forced or aspirated through the bodyof ore, may be passed through other bodies of ore undergoing similartreatment until their sulfurous constitutents are practically entirelyremoved and the gases maybe al- .lowed to pass 0d freely.

The formation of sulfites is substantially prevented by the use ofoxygen, air or other oxidizing agents which are forced through thereacting mass together with the sulfurous reagent or intermittently.Where the sulfurous gases used are derived from smelter furnaces or-thelike, I find that the use of additional air is unnecessary, as excessair is contained therein.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated in a somewhatdiagrammatical manner the carrying out of my invention.

v In them Figure 1 illustrates the process as applied to the treatmentof a single body of ore, and

Fig. 2 illustrates the process as applied to a series of bodies of "ore.

Referring to Fig. 1, the ore 5, in coarse lumps, free from fineparticles, andv which may be, for example, a roasted copper ore or othersimilar ore is charged into a tower 6, in which it rests su ported abovethe bottom on any suitable fi ter or perforated bottom'"7. A gas inletpipe 8 leads into the space 9 below the filter bottom 7, and is providedwith a suitable distributer 1-0. I

This inlet pi e leads from a blower 11,

which forces t e sulfurous gases, in the case illustrated derived from asmelter furnace 12, and which run into the tower 6 and through the orebody.

Simultaneously with the introduction of the gas .the liquid isintroduced at the top through a suitable spray 13, by means of pipe 17and pump 18 from the sump tank 19 into which the liquid flowing throughthe ore is drawn through the pipe 20 from the space 9 below the bodyofore. The sump tank is provided with a suitable dischar 21 providedwith-a valve 22. r

- The as introduced, after passing ihrough y of the ore, passes outthrough out:

. let pipe 23 to be' forced through a further body of 01's by means ofblower-24, or it passes off into the atmosphere.

The tower is filledwith ore through suitable gas tight hoppers 25 orother suitable means, and is discharged in any suitable manner (notshown). The rate of. flow of the liquid passing through the body of oreis regulated 1n such manner that the interstices therein are not blockedto the comparatively free passage of the gas. 1 a

In Fig. 2 is illustrated thev application of the process to a series ofore bodies. A plurality of ore containing towers 26, 27 28, 29 and 30are supplied with sulfurous gas from a furnace 31 by means of blower 32,main 33 and the individual pipes 34 leading to the towers, each of thelatter being provided with a cut ofl valve 35. From the top of eachtower a gas outlet 36 passes to a connection 37, which may discharge thegas to the atmosphere or force it to pass into the next tower at thebottom.

Liquid is supplied to each tank from a main 38, which feeds theindividual tanks through pipes 39 each provided with a cutoff valve 40.At the bottom of each tank is a discharge pipe 41, provided with a valvecharged in any suitable manner.'

It is apparent that by means of the connections described gas or liquidmay be introduced. into any one of the towers at will and caused tocirculate successively through the entire series. In this manner thesu1-' furous constituents of the gas are eflicientlfi' andfcompletelyabsorbed, leaving it in suc condition that it may be permitted to passofi .into the atmosphere without deleterious results.

By successively charging the towers with fresh ore and causing theliquid and gaseous reagents to pass successlvely through the system fromthe more exhausted to the less 'exhausted ore, I effect an efiicient andecovgases for the treatment of metalliferous ores,

consisting in first removing fine' particles from the ore, then chargingthe ore to a closed tower, then subjecting the ore to the action ofsulfurous gases while simultaneously spraying the top of the ore columnwith a non-alkaline liquor in such quantity as not to fill theinterspaces of the ore and prevent the passage of the gases, thusleaching the solu le values from the ore and abstracting the sulfurousconstituents from the gases.

2., In the process for utilizing sulfurous gases for the treatment ofmetalliferous ores, consisting in first removing fine particles from theore, then charging the ore to a plurality of closed towers, thensubjecting the ore tothe action of the sulfurous gases by passing thegases through the series of ore columns, simultaneously spraying the topof each column with a non-alkaline liquor thereby leaching the solublevalues from the ore and abstracting the sulfurous ,constitutents fromthe gases.

3. In apparatus for subjecting ore to the action of sulfurous gases, aplurality of towers, filter bottoms in each of said towers forsupporting the ore therein, gas inlets in said towers below the filterbottoms, water distributers near the top of the towers, means forsupplying water to anyone .of the 4 distributers at will, means forsupplying gas to any one of the distributers at will, and

means for forcing the gas and liquid succes-- sively through the towersand for discharging them.

GEORGE o. WESTBY.

